Google to ax its Shopping app in favor of web search

By Trevor Mogg April 11, 2021

In its latest effort to streamline its myriad of offerings, Google has decided to send its Shopping app to the scrapyard.

Google is no stranger to axing apps and services when it feels that something no longer serves its purpose, and Shopping for Android and iOS is the latest casualty, the company has confirmed.

Of course, it doesn’t mean that Google is exiting e-commerce. No, it definitely isn’t doing that. It’s simply shifting its focus to the web, with everything operating through the Shopping tab on its search results page.

Following the recent discovery of tell-tale strings of code in Google’s Shopping app that pointed to imminent closure, the web company confirmed at the weekend that it is indeed planning to cull the Shopping app for Android and iOS, telling 9to5 Google:

“Within the next few weeks, we’ll no longer be supporting the Shopping app. All of the functionality the app offered users is available on the Shopping tab. We’ll continue building features within the Shopping tab and other Google services, including the Google app, that make it easy for people to discover and shop for the products they love.”

Following the latest app update, users are seeing a “something went wrong” message on the Google Shopping app that prevents them from using it in the usual way. The message adds: “The app is unavailable right now, but you can continue shopping on shopping.google.com.” The dedicated homepage features products across a range of categories, including electronics, home decor, kitchen and dining, and toys. To use the web version to make purchases, make sure you’re logged into your Google account.

The Google Shopping app is just the latest Google product to be shown the door by the California-based company. In fact, it’s become so famous for ditching stuff that someone went and created a Killed by Google website. It currently lists more than 225 culled products going back 15 years. A lot of them you won’t recognize, but some might ring a bell, including Reader, Hangouts, Project Ara, Allo, and Loon.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Mobile

Google’s Android monopoly finds its biggest challenge, and Apple might be next

Apps screen on the Google Pixel 7.

The Competition Commission of India slapped Google with two hefty fines over anti-competitive strategies that have allowed it to dominate the mobile ecosystem in India. Totaling over $250 million, the penalties reprimand Google for forcing smartphone makers to avoid Android forks, prefer Google’s web search service, and pre-install popular cash cows like YouTube on phones.

Google was also disciplined for forcing its own billing system on developers that allowed the giant to take up to a 30% share of all in-app purchases for applications listed on the app store. Google is not really a stranger to titanic penalties; The EU handed Google a record-breaking fine of approximately $5 billion in 2018 for abusing its dominant market position — a penalty that was upheld in September this year following Google’s appeal.

Mobile

Google overhauls its Family Link app for easier parental controls

Google Family Link app.

Google's Family Link app has been a great resource for parents looking to keep an eye on what their children are up to with their devices. Now, it's getting even better thanks to an app overhaul that puts the focus on safety and communication. While the Google Family Link app has previously been praised for its solid parental control settings, the redesign adds plenty of new features that make it easier than ever for parents to monitor smart device usage while keeping children informed about the parental control settings in place.

In addition to a design update that sorts the app into three main tabs (Highlights, Controls, and Location), there's also a laundry list of new features coming to Family Link. Since safety is a huge part of what makes the app appealing, features such as notification alerts when a device arrives at a specific destination (like school or a friend's house) and the ability to see an individual device's battery life are new additions that give parents peace of mind when their kids leave the house.

Mobile

Does the Google Pixel Watch have fall detection? Not yet, but it’s coming soon

Lifestyle image of a woman wearing a Google Pixel Watch.

Looking for a great Android smartwatch? The Google Pixel Watch is Google's response to the Apple Watch and the Samsung Galaxy Watch. With this new kid on the block, Google has inaugurated its own multi-device hardware-software ecosystem with many of the same critical health and safety features.

The Pixel Watch offers Google's software suite, which users can access via LTE or smartphone connection, and incorporates health resources from Fitbit's fitness line. The new watch, which runs Wear OS 3.5, is designed for optimal integration with the Google Pixel 7 and Google Pixel 7 Pro smartphones, which debuted alongside it.